Eligibility is limited to vehicles and people that do not leave any trace, so camping with tents, camper trailers etc is not allowed. Campers must abide by the rules indicated by signage at Cowwarr Weir including a ten ton limit on the bridge and removal of all solid and liquid waste from the site. There is no provision for these on site.

· Self contained RVs only

· External showers not permitted

· 48 hour maximum stay

· Please take all rubbish home with you

· Dogs on leads only. Clean up after your dog

· Generators 9:00 am - 7 pm only

· Water unsuitable for drinking

· Camping at own risk

· RV Camping Area subject to closure without notice

Looking to the future: With increasing numbers of travellers and pressure on existing sites, the "Self Contained Only" requirements are becoming widespread. To stay in these be prepared to remove all waste from the site, including grey water, or stay elsewhere. Unfortunately there are a minority of travellers out there doing the wrong thing in these campsites, and this can only result in campsite closures, with benefits to both campers and town businesses lost. There are still plenty of other places to stay where full self containment is not required.

Cooktown in beautiful far North Queensland have a self contained only campground at the Cooktown Racecourse. Originally their rules specified that only caravans and motorhomes must have inbuilt grey and black water tanks. However they now allow the use of portable sealed grey water tanks, such as the wheeled portables as shown on the previous page. There is a dump point in town at the corner of Chace Close and Hope Street.

From Cooktown:

Do any Self Contained campgrounds in Australia require inbuilt grey water tanks? No

What does “No Camping” mean at a "Self Contained Only" campsite?

Tents and camper trailers are excluded as these are unlikely to have all the inbuilt requirements, and may require tent pegs or stakes in the ground. The signs at some self contained only campsites use this seemingly contradictory wording.

Want to know more?

Ask us

We still require that travellers dispose of their grey water responsibly, ie not just tip it on the grass, but there are no other restrictions in place. The requirement to be self-contained has been relaxed, so campers no longer need to have onboard/inbuilt retention tanks.

Please respect our conditions
• No tent camping
• No sleeping in a passenger vehicle
• 24 hour stay only
• Leave no trace of your stay

Dump point and fresh water facilities are conveniently located in Railway Terrace Kingston SE

Update: Kingston SE on the South Australian limestone coast has several self contained parking areas, and full self containment is no longer a requirement. Kingston offer a choice of four locations for self contained camping; three allow for 24 hour stays and one allows for three to five days.

From Kingston DC:

Your vehicle MUST HAVE the following:

1. Permanently fixed toilet, shower, washing and cooking facilities built
within the vehicle.
2. Grey water and black water containment systems fixed within the body
of the vehicle or sealed portable cassettes or totes that enable safe discharge to a dump ezy point.

The following conditions also apply:

1. Use of the area is for a maximum of 3 nights
2. Use of generators is permitted
3. Dogs must be restrained at all times and must not cause a nuisance to neighbours or pedestrians. You must clean up after your dog
4. Noise must be kept to a minimum after 9:00PM
5. Your donation is greatly appreciated and will help us maintain the RV Rest Area and make it available for other users. The donation box is located near the wheelie bins

Variations

Some campgrounds may allow water to be disposed of on the ground, in parts of the campground only where it is suitable, or only during the dry season.

Northampton Western Australia has a slight concession.

Self Contained Vehicles must carry a minimum of 20 litres of fresh water, have waste (grey) water holding tank with minimum capacity of five litres per person or 15 litres per person if the vehicle is fitted with a shower, and

have a portable toilet cassette, all waste must be retained within the confines of the vehicle and nothing released to ground with the exception of dishwashing sink waste.

At Cowwarr Weir there is an area allocated for people wanting to stay and there is clear signage on site.

Home > Q & A > Questions and Answers - Index > Questions and Answers 16 continued

Many of the photos within this article on Self Contained Campsites have been contributed by other campers. Thank you to those contributors.

To see more signs and variations of rules see Cavavanners Forum

2013 and updated June 2021

Most motorhomes and many modern caravans have inbuilt grey water tanks. Yours doesn't'? Should you decide you want add an inbuilt grey water tank if your caravan doesn't have one, it need not be expensive, complicated or need you to sacrifice a fresh water tank to fit it.

A homemade tank to hold forty to fifty litres of grey water can be made from PVC drain pipe capped, and can be mounted behind of along the side of existing fresh water tanks. To prevent any odours or backflow, you can use a one way valve such as HepvO. Plumbing can be by directing all waste water into your tank, with a valve or stopcock and a fitting for your sullage hose where disposal on site at time of use such as into a sullage pit is suitable. Alternatively, a stopcock can be before the grey water tank, so water can be directed wither into your hose or into the tank.

A commercial space saver such as Safe Tank, where a bladder keeps to fresh and grey water apart, is available. This also keeps the weight in the one place if transferring water as used from one tank to another causes a stability issue with your caravan.

Grey water tanks - inbuilt

Please note that Cowwarr Weir is currently CLOSED to all camping due to misuse, with reports of this clear signed being ignored, water being run onto the ground and holes dug for toileting, and people camping with tents. Once again a good site is lost to all by those who will disobey signs and rules, no matter how clearly set out as this sign was.

Update August 2018

The above conditions update the conditions shown on the signs shown at right.

Note: As from 1 January 2024, Cooktown RV Rest Area will only be open 1 June to 31 August each year